3D cinema may still be in its infancy but that hasn’t stopped a Canadian firm manufacturing a new type of cinema seat that makes 4D a reality. The electromagnet powered seats have already been installed in over fifty cinemas in the US and have proven so popular that more installations are planned for the near future.

How it works

The 3D screen and glasses remain the same with the additional dimension coming directly from the seat. It can tilt, twist, vibrate and even elevate or drop the seat depending on the action being displayed at the time. The company has also built in user preference buttons which can be used to alter the movement intensity, ideal if you are a bit fragile or get motion sickness!

New films such as Fast and the Furious 5 and Harry Potter have proven to be hugely successful, in Fast Five cinema goers feel the seat lurch backwards when accelerating and shooting forwards when the cars break. Likewise if the car jumps, so does the seat – it all sounds quite clever although has been done to some crude degree before – anyone who went to Walt Disney World in the 90’s will know what I am talking about here.

It’s safe to say that the technology has come a long way since ‘Honey I shrunk the kids and Jaws and with the popularity of 4D growing in the US it surely won’t be that long before we receive such tech in the UK, this could be the next big thing in cinema and we can’t wait to try it out.

What do you make of this 4D tech, would you or have you actually used it?

Richard Sharp is the founder of gadgetsandgizmos.org. He loves technology, gadgets (comes with the territory) and social media. You'll find him writing features, attending events and playing with cool tech. Life's good.